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Ensuring a ‘pop-up’ effort pops for consumers and doesn’t flame out in failure

The ‘pop up’ customer engagement experience isn’t brand-new, but it certainly isn’t old hat as many a retailer is embarking on either the first ‘pop up’ effort or getting ready to put those initial lessons learned into play on a second project.

June 21, 2015 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

The ‘pop up’ customer engagement experience isn’t brand-new, but it certainly isn’t old hat at this point either and many a retailer is still embarking on either the first ‘pop up’ effort or getting ready to put those initial lessons learned into play on a second pop-up retail project.

One of the greatest attributes of a retail pop-up is that there is no restrictive definition of what’s allowed or not allowed, and no constrictions on how creative it can be, meaning it’s flexible and malleable—aspects that can really prove useful for a retailer’s needs.

But that doesn’t’ mean they’re always a great success, and it doesn’t mean they can’t crash and burn, taking some hard-earned consumer respect in the process and bruising up the shopper interaction. The best way to avoid any of those negatives and lessen the potential risk of failure is to understand some best practices beforehand and avoiding some common pitfalls and ‘don’ts’ as you get the pop-up planning process underway.

One of the very first missteps a retailer makes with doing the pop-up is not bringing floor staff and customer-facing employees into the planning and development stage, David Cohen, who runs business development at Tensator Group, a queue management company, told Retail Customer Experience (RCE).

It may sound common sense and basic, but it’s essential to prep both staff and the physical location.

“Educate your staff about handling volume in a smaller space and engage them in making sure the store is clean, neat and inviting,” advised Cohen. The focus should be on a clear, uncluttered designated area.

“Pop-ups are tight on square footage so consider using digital signage for branding or to create interest and pops of attention grabbing visuals and audio prompts,” he recommended.

The second big step is ensuring that the process of marketing product and the actual customer interaction on the product is done in an efficient manner.

“Ensure you have a way to handle customer queues quickly and consider using call forward systems or mobile greeters to help expedite transactions,” he said.

One of the worst mistakes, as it can leave a lasting impression, is a customer experience that is a turn-off and simple things like not leaving enough room for shoppers to maneuver or access the product easily can tank any benefit potential.

“Don’t overwhelm customers by overcrowding,” noted Cohen, adding “when selling in a small space less is more,” and that includes not barracking the staff at check-out with merchandise.

Cohen also recommends using in-que merchandising for impulse items and leveraging bins and shelving as wisely as possible to delineate the check-out line. “

“Just don’t overcrowd this space with items that are big – this space is meant for items $9.99 or less and smaller items that don’t require a great deal of thought.  New untested items don’t work well in this space as they tend to slow down the checkout process,” he warned.

John Blogg, managing director at Retail is Detail, told RCE that one top reason a recent pop-up campaign with a cheese seller did so well, and proved successful, was the ability to use some market research data insight into the customer segment the pop-up was focused on reaching.

Such data collection does require even more prior planning, possibly through surveys and polling in store, well before mapping out the pop-up campaign.

 “It gave us a chance to delve deep into the psyche of their cheese eating consumer,” he told RCE. In fact the retail effort was so rewarding the retailer is taking the pop-up marketing effort on the road to other locations through this year and next year.

Lessons learned included realizing that project management and operational activities can easily prove to be the biggest obstacles and pitfalls.

The best news from that initial pop-up project, he said, was that once a successful approach is developed and in play, there is a strong return on investment given it can be used in other locations and stores.

As he noted the initial pop-up kiosk stand in the mall has evolved and matured to a huge degree.

“Brands are seeing the advantages both to support B2B plans and use the opportunity it presents for consumer input. It’s got more than just the retail sale application aspect,” he said.

“We have established that pop-up is an ideal and proactive strategy to market at all times, but it requires careful planning each time,” he said. “The biggest mistake is underestimating the work involved.”

About Judy Mottl

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Judy Mottl is editor of Retail Customer Experience and Digital Signage Today. She has decades of experience as a reporter, writer and editor covering technology and business for top media including AOL, InformationWeek, InternetNews and Food Truck Operator.

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